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The 18 strangest airports in the world

by Kraig Becker (RSS feed) on Feb 21st 2010 at 8:00AM

Airports are unusual places. Every city of decent size has one, but they are rarely all that interesting. Each day, thousands of people move through these places, on their way too and from all manner of destinations, spending time browsing crappy little bookstores and consuming lousy food that would cost half as much elsewhere.

But sometimes, airports can be unusual for different reasons. Perhaps they're located in odd places, or maybe they have some unusual feature or monument that makes them stand out. Popular Mechanics has compiled a list of the 18 strangest airports in the world, each of which meet those criteria and more.

The list includes airports large and small from all over the world and in a wide variety of settings. Some of the very unique airports that make the cut include Kansai International in Osaka Japan, which is famous for having been built on a man-made island and Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which sits just five miles from the very heart of that large and busy city. Other unusual places to take off and land include a runway made of ice in Antarctica and several that have you actually landing on a beach, proving that if we are determined to reach a destination, we'll find a way to get there.

With 18 airports on the list, Popular Mechanics has done a fine job of highlighting some of the most unusual airports in the world. But did they miss any? What is the most unusual airport that you've ever been? As for myself, I'm looking forward to experiencing the airport in Lukla, Nepal in April. That airport is famous for it's location, high in the Himalaya, with the landing strip running up the side of a mountain. Arriving and departing there is said to be scary and exhilarating all at the same time.

Be sure to check out the gallery below for some of the coolest airports in the world...

Gallery: The Coolest Airports in the World

...or watch the videos that demonstrate why these airports are soooo strange.

Courchevel International Airport
Courchevel, France

Princess Juliana International Airport
Simpson Bay, Saint Maarten

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
Saba, Netherlands Antilles

Filed under: Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica, Airports, Middle East

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tommie Feb 22nd 2010 4:27PM

I shutter each time I land in the bowl of San Diego. Seems like a little turbulance could drop you into a house on the hill before the airport.

Shelly S Feb 22nd 2010 5:56PM

Vegas is not such a great place to be landing. The turbulance there is terrible. I think that was the first time I cried on a landing flight.

Richard Feb 22nd 2010 4:29PM

I nominate Beech Mountain airport in Avery county in North Carolina as the scariest for me. I nearly crashed a Cessna 172 once while landing there. What is exhilarating is dodging in and out between the knobs and ridges when making an approach. Actually more terrifying than exhilarating. This was my first landing there and subsequent landings didn't get the adrenaline going like the first time. Another scary place is Logan in Boston. When the wind is blowing offshore it looks like the airliner you're in is about to land in the water.

Jim Tierney Feb 22nd 2010 5:07PM

I travel to Hong Kong quite a bit . The airport has now changed , but I'll never forget my first trip . The airport was originally in the harbor between Hong Kong and Kaloon and it looked as though you were flying between building sine I usually arrived at night and the first few times it just scared the
H--- out of you.

Mr. Bill Feb 22nd 2010 5:53PM

I have to second Richards comment about Beach Mountain, and add that part of the reason Beach is tricky is becasue it is at the highest elevation on the East coast.
Speaking of high airports, I also nominate the airport at the top of the mountian on Catalina Island off the coast of LA.... short runway, always very windy, and no room for error...
And on a final note,,, Reno airport in Nevada provides a relaible thrill every time with it's rapid decent into the typicaly frozen valley.

Brian Moore Feb 22nd 2010 5:11PM

I was in a Piper Plane Crash on St. Barts last year. It was quite amazing. The entire footage was caught by an onlooker:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z2o0acIlm4

ricky949 Feb 22nd 2010 6:10PM

not sure hot it's like now, was there over 20 yrs.ago, but looking out the window of the 'commuter' plane, coming into san pedro sula, on amberquis cay off belize and seeing the wheel hit the gravel runway at it's very edge, i thought of the circumstances if the pilot didn't do it right, everytime.

Marshall Feb 22nd 2010 6:47PM

I would be very interested in dreading about that article in Popular Mechanics
magazine about the l8 airports that are featured. I am aviation buff myself.
Here are some airports I have been to myself and ones I have seen some
pictures and videos of. Airports serviced by turboprop airliners interest me the
most . Isafjordur in Iceland, Taupo in New Zealand,Pangnirtung in the upper far
north of Canada ,Antwerp in Belgium, Juneau in Alaska all present different
challenges for pilots. There are far more examples of extreme and remote
airfields and airports all around the world I am sure of. I can't wait to get ahold of
that magazine and read the article.

Melanie Feb 22nd 2010 8:04PM

For our honeymoon we went to Saint Maarten and very small airport but watching the planes land over the beach was amazing, I have pictures of airplanes right above my husbands head and one time we were on the beach when a plane was about to take off - BIG MISTAKE!! Other than that it was a fun trip, would love to do it again!!

CHARLIE Feb 22nd 2010 8:05PM

I vote for: Mammouth Lakes, CA, Grand Junction, Co (cliff), all the small puddle jumper rock runways throughout Belize, Jamaica (left the runway into the dirt), San Diego (always interesting), Big Sky, Montana ( especially in the winter), Hermasillo, MX., Cabo San Lucas, MX, San Jose, MX & Rock Point, MX, Juneau, AK, Haines, AK and Skagway, AK. If it's for small planes only, it will usually be a thrill!!!

Adrienne Feb 22nd 2010 8:36PM

Hmm. I, too, am very particular about using words properly. It took me a while to learn how to "text" because everyone seems to shorten and distort the english language in this form. But, my bigger pet peeve seems to be rudeness. I tend to have more of a problem with those that, like a school yard bully, seem to find enjoyment in pointing out the slightest imperfection in someone and rejoice in trying to make them feel like less of a person because of it.

Sean Polay Feb 24th 2010 3:53PM

I would have nominated Culbera, Puerto Rico. The approach when flying in from San Juan forces the pilot to fly between a couple of hills and make a quick descent to reach the runway. As I wrote on my blog -- http://www.commuterdaddy.com/2010/02/crazy-airports.html -- it's among the most hair-raising landings I've experienced.